The Catalyst

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Biopharmaceutical research and development (R&D) continues to thrive. This week, we examined some of the ways that medicines in development have opened new doors for patients and what we can do to maintain a bright and promising future.

Mental health conditions affect 1 in 4 Americans and take a heavy economic toll on the United States. Efforts to find effective treatments for conditions such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders continue despite difficult hurdles and setbacks.

Pharmacology is often described as a bridge science because it incorporates knowledge and skills from a number of basic science disciplines including physiology, biochemistry and cell and molecular biology. Pharmacologists are able to 'translate' such knowledge into the rational development of therapeutics. As a result of their multidisciplinary training, pharmacologists are able to offer a unique perspective in solving drug-, hormone- and chemical-related problems.

A ProPublica story from yesterday, “Error: You Have No Payments from Pharma,” details the difficulties physicians face while trying to register with the CMS Open Payments system. And while it only focused on a narrow group of physicians, ProPublica’s findings reflect a much larger problem. It isn’t just a select group of physicians who are having difficulties registering with the CMS Open Payment’s system; many physicians are facing similar issues.

If conventional wisdom says that spending on new cancer medicines is at “unsustainable” levels, and a demonstration project designed to address this leads to increased spending on new cancer medicines and reduced total medical costs, then what happens to conventional wisdom? That’s one question you might be left with after reading the surprising results of the much-anticipated study by Lee Newcomer, MD from United Healthcare and two cancer centers.

In May, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee launched the 21st Century Cures initiative to speed the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and cures for patients. The Committee is conducting a series of hearings and has released white papers on a range of topics to solicit input from patients, researchers, and leaders in government and industry.

Our president and CEO John Castellani asked, “What would happen if the pace of medical innovation in the U.S. slowed or halted altogether?” It’s a scary thought when you consider that without research and development (R&D), the treatments patients have come to depend on and hope to see in the future would not and will not exist.

Without access to essential health care treatments and services, having health insurance coverage is pointless. Being covered should equate to high-quality, affordable health care, but this is not the case for many individuals in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance exchanges.

When doctors first began reporting HIV/AIDS cases in the early 1980s there were few effective options that could help combat or manage the deadly disease. As a result, the condition was quickly dubbed a near-certain death sentence.

Continuing an important conversation about how to make the best use of the wealth of information regarding today’s healthcare treatment options, last week Nicole Fisher wrote in Forbes about the growing need for a new regulatory paradigm to govern how the biopharmaceutical industry communicates with healthcare professionals about medicines.

The 340B program was created to help vulnerable and uninsured patients access needed medicines. However, the program continues to grow exponentially without appropriate guardrails, putting it at risk. Appropriate oversight and reform is needed to ensure the 340B program can fulfill its promise to patients.